a good kind of weird
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: Oneshot, AU future fic. Torres considers his lot in life; McGee assures him he's a lucky guy. .::Clellick::.


**a good kind of weird**

An NCIS oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The _NCIS_ characters belong to Donald P. Bellasario, not to me. Nick is the poster boy for Can't Handle™ situations. XD Read, review, and enjoy!

\- ^-^3

Torres scrutinized his phone for the umpteenth time while he made himself cozy on an armchair in the corner of the room. The chair was nice enough—and dark gray to match his mood, to boot—but it was still…so _new_. And, being surrounded by too many familiar voices right now, at this housewarming party, was also so new. And the newness was getting to him.

Having his phone in hand kept most everyone from approaching him to chat, and those that dared ended up walking away with a quick whisk of his cup to his lips. Sure, it was only soda (he and Bishop had made the decision to keep the apartment dry, even before Reeves had opened his mouth), but Torres felt pretty lucky to be blessed with family and friends who had better manners than he did and didn't like to interrupt someone eating or drinking.

Every few minutes, he picked his eyes up and caught either Bishop's or Reeves' gaze. Funnily enough, both of them wore the same expression: the "C'mon and keep us company throughout this, Nick." Reeves was better at pulling puppy eyes on him, but Bishop's smile was a little nicer and a touch less guilt-tripping. Torres was willing to bet that, should anyone let them wend their way over to his corner, he'd likely be plucked from his funk and forced to join in the festivities.

Thank God his sister was a master of conversation and kept his partners occupied every time someone else took a breath. He took a breath with them.

By the time Lucia had resumed yet another story of their childhood with Bishop and Reeves, Torres was feeling entertained enough that a smile twitched in the right corner of his mouth, and he realized in time that McGee was heading his way. He tamped his smile down. "You're missing out on all the mingling, Tim," he pointed out as McGee stood on his left.

McGee chuckled. "Funny, I could say the same to you."

Torres huffed.

"You realize you've been sitting over here with this noticeable sourpuss face the whole night?"

"You know what they say—it's my party, and I'll grump if I want to." Now he smirked up at his friend, and McGee rolled his eyes in response.

"My point being—why so grumpy?" McGee waved his arm across the room. "This place is amazing, a total steal." He let that arm drop so he could stuff his hands in his pockets. "To be honest, it's a hell of a lot nicer than Delilah's and my place."

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, McGee?"

McGee raised his eyebrows, and they both took another look at the place, most of which could be spotted from the large living room. But the living room was a must for movie nights or for when Bishop went on one of her crazy computer-binge escapades in order to get extra work done when her plate was already full. The bathroom was a door on the opposite wall from where Torres and McGee currently lingered, and a short hallway led to the master bedroom and a smaller one that, right now, operated as a home office and doubled as an extra closet for the overflow of Reeves' suits and Torres' shoes and jackets (both men still marveled at how Bishop's wardrobe didn't even take up all of the space in the main closet in the bedroom).

Decorations were neutral, rather like the three agents' usual work style, but there were pops of color here and there. Earthy yet bright green throw pillows on the couch, reminding Reeves of Scotland and of home in general. Vibrant blues in the paintings Bishop had done to hang on their walls and which echoed some flecks in the granite of their kitchen countertops. And a trio of red-bodied lamps placed on tables and the bookshelf around the living room, a reminder of Torres'—in Bishop's and Reeves' words—"spicy attitude;" he was happy with the color, too, since he was to blame for so many of the black furnishings around their new place.

"…eh, our kitchen's still bigger," McGee finally quipped, making Torres the one to roll his eyes now.

"Ours looks big when no one's using it. When occupied—it's way too cramped." He paused, mulling over the word "ours."

"Your sourpuss look's returning, Nick."

He glanced at McGee. "I can't control it. I have resting sourpuss face."

His friend tried to stifle it, but McGee laughed nevertheless. "Maybe it's a good thing Delilah's bugging Amanda to babysit the twins and not her uncle, then. They'd pick that up from you, you know." McGee stopped there, as if inviting Torres to share what was on his mind.

But that was just the thing. Sharing what was on his mind…probably would make him sound like a whiny brat.

And whiny brats weren't the type to be involved in an adult, polyamorous relationship.

With another huff, Torres leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and cupped his chin in his right hand, finally letting his phone go to the wayside as it hung in his other, limp hand. "Y'know…," he began.

McGee leaned his way to hear better as some joke Palmer tried failed and Kasie interrupted with the correct punchline so the room erupted in laughter.

"I never expected…pretty much everyone to show up," Torres remarked. "Obviously, Ellie and Clay and me, because this…is home now," he stated, avoiding that pesky "our" again. "You and Kasie have impeccable manners, so you're a solid bet, and you come as a set now with Delilah and the twins."

"Jimmy's the same as me, with Breena and Victoria," McGee pointed out.

Torres shrugged in agreement. "But Ducky's emerged from the NCIS catacombs. Abby's back from her charity work and splitting time in the lab with Kasie. Vance showed up with a bottle of sparkling cider, and Gibbs made us a set of matching wooden coasters." The last two thoughts especially weirded him out.

"Sloane's here, too. With doughnuts."

"Sloane's to blame."

McGee did a double-take. "For _what_?"

"She suggested the housewarming party."

Now McGee furrowed his brow. "…that's not unusual, Nick. New home means housewarming party. I mean, well, not always. But it's not uncommon."

At that, Torres sat up and leaned back in the armchair, crossing his arms. "I think that's her whole point. When Clay, Ellie, and I took time, just the three of us, you all kept your distance and let us have privacy. When we were ready to share with you all, it was…kind of a big to-do, but again you guys have shown us respect for the decision to be involved. When we decided to move in together…"

"Ah." McGee nodded knowingly. "Sloane bribed you into her office with the promise of snacks in exchange for picking your brain."

"Turns out she talked to each of us in turn, but I guess I was the only one still coming around to the idea. She—She's almost made this seem…more _normal_ for everyone else, if that makes sense? Using her psych background and going all professional." Torres snorted as he remembered Sloane's big, delighted eyes and oversized gestures when she'd assured him that "such social contracts are typically entered into with the idea of having a working, supportive family unit, regardless of any additional benefits." He snorted again. "It sounded like a mumbo-jumbo version of 'friends with benefits work when everyone agrees on and is happy with all of the benefits,'" he said.

Unsurprisingly, McGee winced at the "friends with benefits" comparison, a motion Torres caught out of the corner of his eye. "I could see her being pretty supportive of this, though," he remarked. "Chosen family units are becoming more common."

"You sound as if you were there in the room. She said there's some research or something starting to emerge that shows chosen family bonds can be stronger than blood bonds."

"Huh. Water thicker than blood." McGee raised his eyebrows again and stroked his scruffy chin. "That's an interesting twist. But you still haven't told me what's on your mind, only what Sloane's had to say about you and Bishop and Reeves."

Torres sighed. McGee had seen through that, huh? "Tim…"

"Yeah?"

"Am I…supposed to be this happy, being involved with both of them at once? Them, being involved with me and with each other all at once?" His mouth was dry and, sadly, his cup was empty when he added, a touch quieter, "Is this…normal?"

To his credit, McGee didn't rush to answer him in an effort to comfort. The two of them watched another eruption of laughter when Victoria beat her father to the next punchline despite Breena trying to shush her, and even Gibbs cracked a smile at the display. "'Normal' is relative," the senior field agent eventually replied.

Torres narrowed his eyes at him. "That's all you've got?"

McGee grinned. "It makes more sense than you might think. But think about everyone here. Vance is closer to our team than to any other in the agency because of what he's been through. Sloane's trying to have a relationship with Faith after all those years of being apart. Abby's got just her brothers left. Delilah's family is 'normal' enough, but mine's a mess, as is Jimmy and Breena's beyond them and Victoria. Kasie's alone here in D.C., and Ducky's got us."

Torres noted that McGee didn't expressly mention Gibbs, but Gibbs' losses were well known amongst all of them despite rarely voicing them.

"I think our NCIS family is more than a work family," McGee continued. "We're a real family. We're evidence of Sloane's water-thicker-than-blood theory."

"But you still didn't answer me, McGee."

McGee shook his head, smiling. "I'm getting there. If that doesn't sell you, then I can assure you that your kind of relationship is more common than you think." He paused to face Torres. "You know I read a lot. And play a ton of games, especially online. It's not just people being in a poly relationship in real life; that kind of thing is getting incorporated into fiction, readable and playable, and people are fine with it or happy with it. It's not super weird anymore. It's—" As if he were Abby, McGee gestured with his hands as if selecting the right words. "It's just one way to expand your family."

His friend's two cents made…frankly, sense. Torres' frustration diminished in light of McGee's understanding and subconscious approval, which he found kind of touching. "I guess you're right," he agreed, "seeing everyone as family in some capacity." He didn't have to say the rest; a shared look with McGee said that his fellow agent also thought of him as a brother. In addition to his actual sister, Abby and Kasie were like big and little sisters, respectively; Palmer was another brother; Sloane was a doting aunt and Ducky a doting grandfather. Aside from Amanda, Victoria, Morgan, and Johnny were also nieces and nephew. Gibbs and Vance were a decent father and mother, even, a comparison that made Torres smile at last and snicker to himself…and one that he also would never breathe a word of to either his boss or his agency head.

As Lucia announced that the best way to wrap up the night was with root beer floats and the younger kids ran after her into the kitchen, Bishop and Reeves pulled away from the main group and lingered in the living room. Both caught Torres' eye, and a soft smile sprouted on Bishop's lips while a large one bloomed on Reeves' face. Reeves took Bishop's nearer hand in his and then held his free one aloft, beckoning their boyfriend to join them.

McGee went over to the kitchen first, leaving Torres to hop up and finally, less reluctantly, join the festivities. He accepted Reeves' hand and ignored Sloane's knowing gaze as Bishop pulled him into a hug.

"You all right there, luv?" Reeves asked as the trio took a moment to themselves and turned away from the others. "You've been holed up on the chair all evening, a true, as you Yankees say, 'Grumpy Gus.'"

Torres gave him a look. "How can I be 'holed up' on a _chair_, Clayton?"

Bishop smiled and patted both men's cheeks. "Now, now, let's not get something started this late at night when we're this close to kicking our family and friends out."

Reeves grinned. "Actually, it _would_ be fun to get something started once they've headed home." He slung an arm around either of his lovers. "I think it's about time I give you two a 'tour of London,' if you catch my drift. What do you say?"

"CLAY!" Bishop yelped.

Torres laughed at how neon red she turned, but he couldn't deny his own face felt as red as hers looked. It didn't help that Reeves punctuated his implication with a long kiss for each of them that made their new apartment seem overcrowded and suffocating, especially the warmer his shirt collar felt on his neck.

Torres sighed, this time happily, this time content. Maybe Sloane was right. Maybe McGee was right. Perhaps they both had a piece of the puzzle when it came to this "reinventing the definition of 'family'" thing. Torres wanted to keep all of them, blood and "water," close.

But Bishop and Reeves, maybe the loves of his life?

He wanted to keep them even closer.

\- ^-^ 3

**:3c This was a fic that transformed a lot from its rough outline in my story notes into the fic you have before you. And, yet, it stayed p true to the original intentions. Originally the setting was going to be another office talk between Nick and McGee (à la my pre-Ellick, "Clueless"), but shifting this to a housewarming party made the story so much easier to write, and ultimately it flowed much more naturally, esp being able to include Sloane, which became a kind of plot point. I still see Nick as being rather self-introspective, based on what canon we know of him, because he seems to be all bravado much of the time and hides a lot; despite his early claims of being close to his family even though he's been an undercover agent for so long, he rly does keep to himself…which, thankfully, has been shifting as the seasons have gone along. Obvo AU bc Reeves died WAY TOO SOON, but the chemistry of Clellick rly makes me swoon. (And jfc Clay's naughty jokes at the end—XD Had "home is where the heart is" not been so angsty, you guys woulda had that sooner!) But I think the family descriptions/comparisons are apt here, and I'm glad to have included those I did. Plus, I rly miss Lucia and Amanda? I want Nick's family to be back onscreen, tyvm! Dx Lastly, a disclaimer: I don't know if such research as Sloane mentioned exists, but based on the number of ensemble, chosen-family casts on TV these days and from some of my own personal experience, the family you decide to make, whether you're related, rly does seem to have tough bonds that are harder to break, and I'm happy I got to incorporate that idea here. (But wow if anyone knows of such research, pls link me! Now I'm curious to read since a quick search on my end turned up nothing. D:)**

**Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other **_**NCIS**_** fics if you liked this.**

**-mew-tsubaki :}**


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